Ryan Leslie may be regretting the $1 million bounty he put on his stolen laptop, which was taken from a black Mercedes.
Armin Augstein, who allegedly found the laptop while walking his dog and
turned it over to police, filed suit against Leslie in Manhattan
federal court, claiming the “Diamond Girl” hitmaker ignored his repeated
emails about recovering the stolen item. Now a judge has ruled for Augstein, ordering Leslie to pay out the $1 million reward.
""Ain't no way to get around ups & downs." Jury of my peers rules for the plaintiff," Leslie wrote on Twitter following the verdict.
Leslie, who was touring Germany in October (2010) when his MacBook was
stolen, initially offered $20,000 for the return
of the device. He later raised the reward to $1 million, writing on
Twitter: "For the record, I had so many amazing music & visual
projects on that MacBook that I was working on to share with u this
winter."
Additionally, he released a message of plea via
Facebook and Youtube stating: "I lost my computer out here in Germany. I
actually had my whole new album on there, which I had been working on
in secret, and it got stolen. So right now I got a million-dollar reward
for anybody that can return my intellectual property to me.”
According to the New York Post, the jury thought a $1 million pay out was too high, but in the end, agreed, after Augstein and his lawyers refused to settle.
"No one forced him to make an offer of so much money for a finder's
fee,” Augstein told the Post. “It seems like he believes that that which
he promised, he doesn’t have to live up to."
$20K to a million is a big jump! We're guessing Ryan is pretty upset, but it makes for a great song.
Ryan Leslie Ordered to Pay Man Who Found His Laptop $1 Million
11/30/2012 5:30:58 PM


















